Wire-stretching implement



(No Model.) G. 0. ALLEN.

WIRE STRETGHING IMPLEMENT.

N f364.,564, Patented June 7,1887.

. I a I I v 4 21- E-Z- I Mai UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

GEORGE O. ALLEN, OF MONTI ILLE, CONNECTICUT.

HWIIRE-STREVTCHING IMPLEMENT.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 364,564, dated June 7, 1887.

Application filed April 11, 1887. Serial No. 234,355. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Beit known that I, GEORGE O. ALLEN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Montville, in the county of New London and State of Connecticut, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in WireStretching Implements, which improvement is fully set forth and described in the following specification, reference being had to the accompanying sheet of .drawings, in which Figurel illustrates themanner in which my said implement is usedin the act ofwiring packing-cases. Fig. 2 is an enlarged side view of said implement, and Fig. 3 a front end View of the same My invention is in the class of tools specially adapted for grasping and stretching wire, hoop-iron, wire screen, 850., and has for its immediate objects the production of a portable tool of moderate cost and great leverage, in which the gripping power of the jaws will be proportionate to theapplied levotherwise severing said wire.

erage, and whose notched jaws shall be capable of biting or gripping the wire sufficiently toprevent its slipping without cutting or Said implement is especially useful in strapping or wiring packing-cases, and by its adoption common annealed wire of single strand may be used successfully in place of hoop-iron, and of twisted wire, as more recently used.

Referring to the drawings, the letter a indicates the handle of said implement, having an integral jaw, a, at the opposite end, and having pivoted thereto a companion jaw, b, having a projection, b, at approximately a right angle to the handle a. Thejaws ab are held normally in an open position by a spring,which may be applied in any of the several ways common to this class of tools. I

have here shown a flat spring, 0, secured to handle a, the free end of said spring bearing in a slot in the rear side of the projection 12.

lhe jaws a b project a considerable distance laterally in each direction, (see Fig. 3,) so that the wire to be stretched may pass through and be held by said jaws in a direction substantially parallel with the handle a, as will be understood by reference to Fig. 1. Said jaws are notched or channeledin adirection transverse to the line of wire to be held, as at e, and at the outer edge of each jaw is left a rib, d,with fiat face, to prevent the jaws I from coming into such close contact with each other as to bite the wire completely in two. These ribs d form an important feature of my invent-ion.

When about to strap a case, one end of the wire is secured in place by a staple driven over it. Said wire is then passed across the end of the case, and is grasped between the jaws a b, the projection b resting meanwhile against the vertical side of the case, as shown in Fig. 1. Now, by forcing the handle a downward, the wire is drawn tightly across the box, and may be fastened by staples or double-pointed tacks,which straddle the wire.

The construction of my implement is such that an increase of pressure on lever a furnishes a proportionate increase of gripping power in the jaws, so that the wire cannot slip. For cases where it is desirable to grip the wire between the corners of a case, I provide a spur, h, at the end of projection b, which may be driven into the wood to prevent the tool from slipping in the act of stretching the wire. I I have also provided a second spur, i, on the side of projection b, which may be used in the end of a case. These spurs add but slightly to the cost of constructiombut add materially to the convenience and completeness of the implement.

Having thus-described my invention and the manner in which it is to be operated, I claim as new and wish to secure by Letters Patent 1. In combination with a handle having one end formed as a laterally-projecting jaw,

a correspoudingjaw pivoted thereto,and hav- 2. In combination with a handle having one end formed as a laterally-projecting jaw, a corresponding jaw pivoted thereto,and having the lever-arm I), terminating in a spur, h, projecting therefrom in a direction approximating a right angle, the I coincident faces of too said jaws being formed with both grippingteeth and stops, substantially as and for the objects specified.

GEORGE o. ALLEN.

Witnesses:

FRANK H. ALLEN, FRED. H. LATHROP. 

